Fake officials terrorize residents

DANBURY - The two men armed with handcuffs and identification cards said they were immigration officials. One night last week, they flashed ID cards and barged into several apartments - terrifying residents by demanding answers they didn't have.

By the time the men left, they had taken $1,300.

At 6 p.m. Monday,
Glayce Silva
heard someone knocking on her condominium door. The 23-year-old Danbury woman opened the door to find two tall, white men identifying themselves as immigration officers. They carried a photo and said they were looking for an illegal immigrant.

A blond-haired man in his 40s with large tattoos on his right arm stepped inside, while the other man with short brown hair in his 20s stayed outside of the apartment. An ID card was flashed in front of her, but too quickly for Silva to read.

"They were very underdressed, wearing jeans and their shirts halfway unbuttoned. They showed me a photograph of a young man and said if I didn't tell them where he was I would be arrested," said Silva.

Silva said the older man asked several questions about the illegal immigrant, while he searched her bedroom.

"I was terrified. He kept on asking me questions about the guy and threatening to arrest me," Silva said.

Danbury police detective
Dan Trompetta
, who is investigating the incident, is certain the two men are not immigration officials.

"We are looking into the possibility of these people being bounty hunters who crossed the line and committed crimes," Trompetta said. Bounty hunters are people who seek out escape fugitives in return for monetary reward.

Five minutes after the two men left Silva's apartment, they knocked on the door across from hers.

Marzo Frois, 33, was cleaning his large fish tank when he heard several bangs on the door. It took him a few minutes to answer. When he opened the door, two men pushed their way into his living room and threatened him with a pair of handcuffs. Again, they showed the photograph.

"One of them had a small ID card in one hand and a pair of handcuffs on the other. I was so scared that I didn't look at what the orange-like card said," Frois said. "They said they were immigration officers and that I was under arrest, and that if I don't cooperate they would handcuff me and take me away."

For 45 minutes the two men searched the home, saying they were looking for the man in the photograph. Frois said the man had been his roommate, but he moved away seven months ago.

"They said I was lying and that I would be arrested in his place," said Frois.

Then the blond man told Frois to empty his pockets. On a computer chair next to the sofa, Frois placed a pack of cigarettes and $1,300 in cash he was going to use to purchase construction equipment at
Home Depot
later that evening.

"The blond man started asking me for all kinds of documents and utility bills. I told him it was all in my bedroom," Frois said.

Frois was escorted by the younger man as he went to his bedroom to look for his file box. When Frois returned to the living room, the other man was sitting at the computer chair.

"Suddenly he stood up and said he would be back in one hour to take me away. As they left the condo, I realized my money was gone. I wanted to run after them, but I was really afraid," he said.

Frois and two other witnesses said the two men were driving a large, dark-blue Ford van with a Harley-Davidson front plate with the saying "live to ride."

Besides Silva and Frois, about eight people in the Hospital Avenue condominium complex said they were harassed by the pair. Most were afraid to talk about the incident.

"I had just returned from a restaurant when I saw the van in the parking lot. I knew it didn't belong to anyone here. It was large and had tinted windows. I didn't really get the people who drove it," Santana.

Danbury detective Trompetta said that people should always demand to see identification from those claiming to be officers of any kind. "Bail agents should always identify themselves as such, and never as Immigration," he said.

According to Connecticut statute, bounty hunters must notify local police before making an arrest, and cannot suggest they are agents of the state or federal government.

"I understand that some people, especially immigrants, may feel afraid at times. But they should always think of their safety first, and don't let themselves be bullied by words," Trompetta said.

Santana said that some of the residents are still very afraid that the two men may return.

"Most of us believe those people are not real officers, but it is also scary to know that the place we live could be a target for criminals. Imagine these two coming into your house and stealing your cash," he said.

Frois, who moved to Danbury three years ago, said he came to the United States to work hard and raise a family here. He always found the city a safe place to live and now he is fearful.

"When someone knocked on my door I used to just tell them to come in. Now, when I hear a knock, my heart skips a beat and my hands sweat cold," Frois said. "I'll live with fear for a while."